MSGID: 1:317/3 6410b63f   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   March 14, 2023 - Freddy fills up Lake Ihotry   
      
      Freddy fills up Lake Inhotry   
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      Tropical Cyclone Freddy, one of the longest-tracked tropical systems of   
      all times, took an unusual path across the Indian Ocean, twice dousing   
      Madagascar with extremely heavy rains and strong winds. Freddy struck   
      the central eastern shore on February 21 and exited the island on   
      February 22 just south of Lake Ihotry and north of the town of Toliara.   
      Freddy struck Mozambique on February 24, then rebounded to pound   
      southwestern Madagascar with intense rain of March 6 as the center spun   
      just offshore near Toliara.   
      
      According to the BNGRC (Bureau National de Gestion des Risques et des   
      Catastrophes), Freddy's return to the west coast caused 8 at least   
      deaths and affected 40,375 people in 8,896 households across three   
      regions. A total of 14,502 people have been displaced.   
      
      Freddy brought more than 10 inches of rain along its first pass across   
      Madagascar, with nearly that amount added to the southwestern coast as   
      it made an unwelcomed return. With soils already saturated by   
      torrential rains from Tropical Cyclone Chenesco, which stalled off the   
      west coast in January, Freddy’s rainfall created widespread flooding.   
      
      The storm waters also filled Lake Ihotry, a closed saline lake in a   
      semi-arid region in the southwestern section of the country. On March   
      13, 2023, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on   
      board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a false-color image of flooded   
      Lake Ihotry (top image). The bottom false-color image acquired on   
      January 17 by the MODIS on Terra shows the same lake prior to the   
      passage of both Chenesco and Freddy.   
      
      This type of false color image uses infrared and visible light (MODIS   
      bands 7,2,1), which makes both deep water (deep blue) and shallow water   
      (light blue) easy to differentiate from vegetation (bright green) or   
      open land (tan). In the January 17 image, Lake Ihotry contains only a   
      small amount of deep water, with shallow water covering the eastern   
      portion. The southeastern coastline appears tan, suggesting very dry   
      conditions. While vegetation is abundant in most of the image, several   
      beige areas contain no vegetation at all. These are mineral-crusted   
      salt pans in a very arid region.   
      
      Conditions are noticeably different in the March 13 image. Lake Ihotry   
      is swollen more than full, covering all the dry edges visible in the   
      earlier image. In addition, in many areas, the salt pans have a blue   
      tint indicating they, too, have been drenched and flooded by the   
      passing storms.   
      
      Image Facts   
      Satellite:  Terra   
      Date Acquired: 3/13/2023   
      Resolutions:  1km (76 KB),  500m (170.6 KB),  250m (94 KB)   
      Bands Used: 7.2.1   
      Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC   
      
      
      
   https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2023-03-14   
       
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